King Lear scene by scene 12
The final episode: the cataclysmic events which define this play and mark it as Shakespeare's darkest tragedy.
Dec 15, 2024•9 min
Julian Girdham
Thinking, writing, reading, teaching.
Happy to be bought some coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/juliangirdham
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Episodes
King Lear scene by scene 11
The penultimate episode, number 11, looks at Act 4 scene 7, and Act 5 scenes 1 and 2, a relatively quiet section between the tumultuous Act 4 scene 6 and the climax of the play.
Dec 10, 2024•6 min•Season 1Ep. 11
King Lear scene by scene 10
In episode 10 I whizz through three quick scenes first - Act 4, scenes 3, 4 and 5, and then pay proper attention to the immense and complex scene 6.
Dec 05, 2024•12 min
King Lear scene by scene 9
Here, I look at Act 4 scene 1 in the aftermath of Gloucester's blinding, and in addressing Act 4 scene 2 give an overview of Albany's character through the play.
Nov 26, 2024•9 min•Season 1Ep. 9
King Lear scene by scene 8
The notorious brutalising of Gloucester in Act 3 scene 7 opens up a consideration of images of blindness and seeing throughout the play - a key idea.
Nov 18, 2024•11 min•Season 1Ep. 8
King Lear scene by scene 7
Episode 7 of King Lear scene by scene looks at Act 3 scene 4 (the second one in the storm) and scene 6 (the mock trial). Scene 5 is skipped - little to say.
Nov 12, 2024•7 min
King Lear scene by scene 6
We move into Act 3 with the first three scenes, and in scene 2 into the storm which dominates the central part of the play.
Nov 05, 2024•4 min
King Lear scene by scene 5
In this episode, I look at the very significant but very short Act 2 scene 3, followed by the much more meaty Act 2 scene 4. They are both connected by the idea ‘nothing’.
Nov 03, 2024•9 min
King Lear scene by scene 4
This time, three short scenes which mark Lear’s growing isolation, and a sense that darker forces are gathering strength: Act 1 scene 5, Act 2 scene 1 and Act 2 scene 2.
Nov 01, 2024•7 min
King Lear scene by scene 3
Act 1 scene 3 (briefly) and scene 4 are the focus this time: themes of loyalty and service, and of course of blindness, which is everywhere. Also, dog-owners look away.
Oct 22, 2024•7 min
King Lear scene by scene 2
In the second scene of the play, we are introduced to the unique feature of this tragedy by Shakespeare, the sub-plot, opening with the fascinating villain Edmund.
Oct 17, 2024•7 min•Season 1Ep. 2
King Lear scene by scene: 1
The first in a series on individual scenes in the play King Lear , for teachers and pupils. This looks at Act 1 scene 1, the explosive opening scene which sets off the subsequent catastrophe.
Oct 15, 2024•9 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Richard Yates: his life and works, discussed by John Fanagan
An interview with John Fanagan, who has been discovering the works of the American novelist Richard Yates (1926-92). Somewhat neglected since his death, this has changed thanks to the success of the recent film of his novel Revolutionary Road . John discusses Yates's 'disaster area' of a private life, and several novels and short stories.
Apr 12, 2023•26 min
Terry Dolan on Geoffrey Chaucer
An interview with Professor Terry Dolan about the life, times and works of the great Middle English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, especially his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales . Professor Dolan talks about the nature of English society at the time, and discusses pilgrims such as the Knight, the Prioress and the Wife of Bath.
Apr 12, 2023•25 min
Macbeth revision 1: the crucial moment
The first revision podcast on the play Macbeth opens with an analysis of the crucial soliloquy beginning Act I scene vii, 'If it were done...' These revision podcasts are designed to freshen up thinking in the weeks leading up to the Leaving Certificate. [Made in May 2009].
Apr 12, 2023•13 min
Macbeth revision 2: the real Lady Macbeth
The second revision podcast on Macbeth examines the role of Lady Macbeth, who is too often reduced to a simplistic black and white character, but who should be considered as a real woman, complex and sometimes fragile. This talk looks at the nine scenes in which she appears. [Made in April 2009].
Apr 12, 2023•17 min
Macbeth revision 3: King Macbeth - law and order in Scotland.
The third Macbeth revision podcast prior to the Leaving Certificate is 'King Macbeth: law and order in Scotland', and looks at the nature of monarchy in the world of Shakespeare's text, examining the idea of the natural order, and looking at Duncan's rule at the start of the play. Some historical background is also discussed. [Made May 2009].
Apr 12, 2023•16 min
Macbeth revision 4: Malcolm the hero?
The fourth Macbeth revision podcast in a series leading up to the Leaving Certificate looks primarily at the latter part of the play. It leads on from last week's session, which examined the nature of order and law in the early part of the play. This considers particularly Malcolm and Macduff in the long scene set in England, the English King Edward, and our feelings as an audience as we watch Macbeth vanquished by the forces of decency. [Made May 2009].
Apr 12, 2023•13 min
Macbeth revision 5: the witches and the supernatural
The 5th Macbeth revision podcast, leading up to the Leaving Certificate, examines the influence of the 'weird sisters' and the supernatural on the events of the play, particularly on Macbeth's own thoughts and actions. It concentrates on the witches' influence in the early part of the play. [Made May 2009].
Apr 12, 2023•16 min
Macbeth revision 6: quotation auto-test
Here are ten quotations from Macbeth: pause after each, and think about who spoke the words, and the context, and then listen to the answers and a commentary on the quotation. These commentaries examine the quotations as key moments in the play, linking them to the rest of the text, and again trying to prompt fresh reflection on the themes and characters. [Made May 2009].
Apr 12, 2023•18 min
Macbeth's tragic end: 7.
The last of seven Macbeth revision sessions deals with Macbeth as he faces his end in Act V, and analyses the crucial speech in Act V scene v, 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrrow...' It looks at why we consider his story tragic, given the horrendous deeds he has committed. [Made May 2009].
Apr 12, 2023•10 min
Voices of Poetry 2020
In 2020, the annual Voices of Poetry evening moved online. Normally, we would be round a single spotlight in the Big Schoolroom listening to words in different languages from all over the world. This time, words were sent from all over the world inwards, to be gathered virtually in this recording.
Jun 17, 2020•42 min
Seamus Heaney's 'Sunlight'
Our 30th podcast is one of an occasional series on poems on the Irish Leaving Certificate English course. This examines Seamus Heaney's poem 'Sunlight', one of the dedicatory poems called 'Mossbawn', which open his 1975 collection North. 'Sunlight' is a poem of great warmth, recreating a scene from his childhood on the family farm, suffused with the love of and for his aunt Mary. However, it also prefigures disturbance and the eventual disappearance of such an idyll in a more violent society.
Feb 02, 2012•8 min
'Hamlet' revision podcast 4: the first soliloquy
Our 29th podcast is the fourth in a series looking at the play Hamlet leading up to the Leaving Certificate next month, and is a close examination of Hamlet's first soliloquy, 'O that this too too solid flesh...', putting the speech in its context and looking at how it expresses the character's deepest feelings about his mother.
May 18, 2011•11 min
'Hamlet' revision podcast 3: the first scene
Our 28th podcast deals with the first scene in the play Hamlet, which sets a mood of uncertainty, and prefigures some central themes of the play, such as the disruption of the natural order, identity and revenge. The first two podcasts in our revision series prior to the Leaving Certificate exams gathered together individual short talks on 10 characters in Hamlet - the first one was on 1) Fortinbras, 2) Horatio, 3) Laertes, 4) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, 5) Polonius; the second on 7) Ophelia, ...
May 08, 2011•8 min
4 Characters in 'Hamlet'
Our 27th podcast gathers together the final four short 'audioboos' from our series 10 Characters from 'Hamlet', which deal with these characters: Ophelia, The Player King, Osric, The First Gravedigger. Click here for the first six characters. The series looks at the 'lesser' characters in the play, in five-minute chunks. Note that there is a brief gap between each talk.
Apr 04, 2011•19 min
Patterns of Poetry 9-15
Our 26th podcast brings together seven more 5-minute talks from the Patterns of Poetry series, which was runner-up in the 2010 Edublog Awards in the category 'Best Educational Use of Audio.' The talks are, in order: (9) Rhyme, (10) Repetition, (11) The Sonnet, (12) Punctuation, (13) Foreshadowing, (14) Metaphor, (15) Hyperbole. Note that there is a brief pause between each talk. The first 8 talks are available in a single podcast here.
Apr 02, 2011•31 min
6 Characters in 'Hamlet'
This podcast gathers together the first five short 'audioboos' from our series 10 Characters from 'Hamlet', which deal with six characters: 1) Fortinbras, 2) Horatio, 3) Laertes, 4) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, 5) Polonius. Another podcast will put together the remaining four when complete. The series looks at the 'lesser' characters in the play, in five-minute chunks. Note that there is a brief gap between each talk.
Mar 12, 2011•23 min
Patterns of Poetry 1-8
Our 24th podcast puts together in one handy track the first eight of the Patterns of Poetry talks, first published via Audioboo. The eight talks are all under 5 minutes each and are, in order: (1) Introduction, (2) Titles, (3) Alliteration, (4) Personification, (5) Symbols, (6) Onomatopoeia, (7) Cliché, (8) Simile. Note that there is a brief gap between each talk. There is a full list of the series here.
Oct 11, 2010•34 min
King Lear revision podcast 6: the end of the play
Our 23rd podcast is the final one of 6 on King Lear. This looks at the end of the play, considering how the famously bleak ending is constructed by Shakespeare. Lear so nearly becomes a play with a comic ending (like its sources and Nahum Tate's rewritten 1681 version). Instead, there is no mitigation: all is dark horror. To read Tate's version, click here (go to page 66 for the ending).
May 27, 2010•9 min
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